Lincoln Could Lose $6 Million Every Weekend Without Husker Football
By Jack Williams, Managing Editor and Reporter Nebraska Public Media News
Aug. 12, 2020, 1:34 p.m. ·


No college football this season could mean tens of millions of dollars in economic losses for Lincoln and other Nebraska communities that count on fans spending money during game weekends. The Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates a $6 million per home game loss for the hospitality industry, including hotels, restaurants and bars, and the losses are much more than that for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“Our economic impact that we take a look at from the tourism standpoint is that number,” Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Jeff Maul said. “The number that Scott Frost and Bill Moos will throw out there is hundreds of millions of dollars that it has as far as impact on the University system because you’re talking ticket sales and concessions and all the different things that go into the university experience. The impact on their end is obviously much larger than what we see community-wide.”
Maul says the Convention and Visitors Bureau is looking for ways to offset the potential losses, including recruiting more fall events. He says the pandemic has caused organizations like his to be more creative and look for ways to attract more non-traditional events to help cover the losses.